Exterior insulation panels are commonly employed in construction, particularly in commercial and industrial construction. In such applications the exterior insulation panels are applied over a layer of sheathing material which is normally applied to the exterior of a building under construction. In order to provide for proper drainage, it is common in the art to provide the rear surface of the insulation panel with drainage channels such as vertical grooves. The rear surface of the panel may also be provided with horizontal grooves to allow for air circulation and help improve the drainage. This can result in the rear surface having a box or diamond pattern.
The outer surface of the insulation panel is generally finished with a stucco like finish to provide an exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS). A base coat is first applied over the insulation panel by spraying or towelling. A mesh layer is then embedded in the wet base coat by towelling and an additional base layer may then be applied over the mesh layer. Once the base coat dries, one or more finish coats are then applied to the outer surface to provide the finish desired.
The covering of the wall by the insulation panels is generally started at the lower edge of the wall. Any exposed edges of the insulation panel must be wrapped along the edge and part way up the inner surface by a base coat and mesh layer as described above. This seals the edges of the panel and reduces the possibility of the finish surface cracking at the edges as it is supported by the wrapped base and mesh layers. Similarly, exposed edges of the insulation panel around openings such as for doors and windows also have to be wrapped. It has been found however, that as this is a tedious and labour intensive step, it is common in the field for installers to either skip the wrapping steps or to not wrap around to the inner surface. One reason for this is that it is difficult to wrap around to the inner surface if the inner surface has been attached to the sheathing material. The installer must loosen the inner surface from the building in order to wrap the inner surface, then reattach the edge of the panel to the building. If the edges and inner surface are not wrapped, it can result in deterioration of the edges of the insulation panel as well as cracking or fracturing of the final finish coats due to exposure to the elements.
There thus remains a need for simple to install starter course which provides for ease in wrapping the edges and inner surface of the insulation panel.